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Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 5, "Cinnamon's Wake": Pop Culture Rewatch
Episode 5 • 10th October 2025 • Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls • Friday Night Readers
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Welcome to Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 5, "Cinnamon's Wake": Pop Culture Rewatch ! In this podcast episode, I share the books and pop culture referenced when Cinnamon dies, and the town of Stars Hollow attends the wake. Max Medina and Lorelai also have their first date.

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Books, Pop Culture, and Other Mentions:

Full Show Notes For Gilmore Girls Season 1, Episode 5, "Cinnamon's Wake": Pop Culture Rewatch

Time Stamps:

  • 00:30 What Happened in Stars Hollow
  • 06:41 The Gilmores' World of Books
  • 10:19 Oy With the Pop Culture Already
  • 15:08 Book Tease

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About Friday Night Readers: Pop Culture Rewatch of Gilmore Girls :

This is an unofficial pop culture rewatch of Gilmore Girls hosted by Friday Night Readers. We dive deep into each episode, featuring the Gilmores’ world of books, as well as their fast talk. Oy, with the pop culture already! Learn what the Gilmores are actually talking about, so you can read and live more like them as you rewatch. Life’s short; read fast!

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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome to Friday Night Readers,

an unofficial pop culture

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rewatch of Gilmore Girls.

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We dive deep on each episode featuring

the Gilmore's world of books, as

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well as their fast talk or with the

pop culture already learn what the

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Gilmores are actually talking about so

you can read and live more like them.

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Life's short read and rewatch fast.

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Hey, Friday night readers.

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Let's talk about what happened

in Stars Hollow in season one.

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Episode five, cinnamon's Wake.

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The episode begins at a Richard

less Friday night dinner.

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Now, I mentioned last episode

that I'm going to start featuring

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Emily Savage Burns here.

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She doesn't have one, but she

does trick Lorelei into believing.

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She socialized with a quote.

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Nice Nazi.

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Good one, Emily.

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Rory gets on Lorelei's case about the

Chilton Bake Sale, and when I hear of

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bake sales, I always think of my friend's

genius hack for when you're under a time

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crunch, it's one that Lorelei would love.

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She buys store-bought baked goods

like brownies, then cuts them up

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and puts them into little cupcake

papers to give them a homemade feel.

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You are welcome.

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Babette and Morey walk their cat

cinnamon in a little wagon stroller.

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And I've gotta say this, custom

contraption is practically

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fit for royalty also.

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Cinnamon is such a cute cat name.

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I wanna share my own cat's names

with you since they have pop culture

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references like a true Gilmore.

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Minnie was of course, Minnie Mouses, but

also the name of Sharon Osborne's dog

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on the Osborn's rocker, Ozzy Osborne's

early two thousands reality show.

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I just loved how she called

the dog in her British accent,

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and I made a mental note of it.

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Romeo is the Italian way of saying Romeo,

who everyone knows from Romeo and Juliet.

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He's named after a charming boy cat.

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We met in Italy on our honeymoon,

Lillian, AKA lil or lily, is named

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after the hilarious movie Bridesmaids,

ironically starring Melissa McCarthy.

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We were stuck on a name and

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I recalled that we both said we loved

that name once while watching it as

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we celebrate the life of cinnamon.

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I also want to celebrate your cats.

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I asked my Instagram followers

to share their cat's names, and

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I'm shouting out Theo, Allie,

Felix, Marley, Gigi, and Lola.

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Such cute names Next Dean in an attempt

to flirt with Rory on the bus scares her

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and I am immediately transported back to

the days of being nervous around my crush.

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Michel struggles with some French

guests at the Inn with whom he a

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French man refuses to speak French.

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Can Michel pull off Texas origins in the

words of Macaulay Culkin in home alone?

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I don't think so.

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At the bake sale, Sookie creates

a culinary landscape of goodies,

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including a watermelon swan.

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Then in true Sookie fashion,

she likes the table on fire.

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Who doesn't love a bake sale?

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I asked my Instagram followers what

their favorite baked sale baked good

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is, and they called out lemon squares,

cinnamon rolls, dirt and brownies.

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I think I'd personally go with a

vanilla cupcake with buttercream icing.

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Max creeps up and puts

the moves on Lorelai.

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Yes, I said creeps.

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There's something nefarious

to me about his appearance.

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So I asked my Instagram followers if

asking Lorelai out was inappropriate,

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and they were pretty split.

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45% said yes, and 55% said no.

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Shoot your shot Max.

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Here Lorelai offers up one of her

most famous coffee lover Quips Max.

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You like coffee Lorelei

only with my oxygen.

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Lorelai doesn't exactly agree to the

coffee date, but let's max know where

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she'll be if he happens to show up.

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Lane and Rory bounce about town and

Cinnamon's situation is becoming dire.

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After eating bad clams at Al's Pancake

House, then Rory sneaks into Doose's

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market to see Dean and Miss Patty.

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Promises not to tell.

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Kirk announces that he's the new assistant

manager while scolding Miss Patty and this

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friends is the first time we meet Kirk.

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Back when we discussed the Lorelai

first day at Chilton, he was Mick,

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the DSL installer, and I promised to

reveal what's behind this discrepancy.

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Well, here it is.

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The showrunner simply kept thinking

of him when they were casting Kirk.

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They ended up deciding it would be funny

to have him back and make it a thing

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that he plays so many roles in the town.

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My source for this was the Gilmore

Girls Companion book, and I will

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link it in the show notes for you.

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Lorelei and Max meet in a coffee

shop that has an actual bar.

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Max isn't interested in foam, so

he ends up drinking plain coffee,

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which is actually quite fitting

for his boring personality.

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Sorry, max.

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He continues to love bomb Lorelei

and her walls begin to crumble.

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At Luke's Diner, Lorelei and Sookie

discuss whether Lorelei should

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date Max until Rory summons Lorelei

to Cinnamon, who has sadly died a

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bewildered Morey then utters one of the

most philosophical lines of the show.

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This is life, Rory.

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It breaks your heart.

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The town gathers at Morey's and Babette's

for a celebration of Cinnamon's life,

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and this scene is why so many fans of

the show consider this episode to be

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the unofficial start of the series.

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Nothing captures Stars hollow more

perfectly than an entire community,

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dropping everything at a moment's notice.

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To support a grieving member at a cat

funeral, I asked my Instagram followers

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and a majority, 56% of you said, this

is where the show begins for you.

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If you wanna participate in next

week's polls, just follow us over at

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Friday night readers on Instagram.

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We'd love to hear from you there.

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Rory pretends to Lorelei that she

doesn't know Dean, then nervously

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blows him off as a formerly awkward

teen myself, I totally get it.

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Max shows up for his date with Lorelei,

who has forgotten all about it in

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the midst of the cinnamon drama.

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I've been kind of tough on Max

this episode, but I'll give

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him credit for understanding.

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In Babette's gnome Garden, Dean

tells Rory he gets her cold shoulder,

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which prompts her to finally

indicate her interest and runaway.

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This won't be the last time Rory has

a first with Dean, then runs away.

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Hint, hint.

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Rory and Lorelei quibble about

Max, and I'm leaning towards

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Rory's side on this one.

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It is what it is, but at the

same time, it would be really

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weird to have your parent date.

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Your teacher, Emily bookends

the episode with an angry phone

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call that Lorelei skipped her

cousin's funeral for a cat funeral.

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And here we finally get one

of Emily's savage burns.

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I don't leave messages.

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If I wanted to talk to a

machine, I'd talk to my VCR.

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Richard's absence in this episode

is noticed and very much missed.

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Finally Rory gives in and offers

Lorelei her blessing to date Max

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the Gilmore's world of books.

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Let's break down this episode's most

iconic literary references for those

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taking the Rory Gilmore Reading

Challenge with us on Friday night.

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readers.substack.com

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where we read from the list of

books mentioned on Gilmore Girls.

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The episode title sneakily references

Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce.

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This is his famously complex 1939 novel,

written in a dreamlike multilingual style.

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It falls the earwicker family

in Dublin through language,

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myth, and cyclical themes.

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I've never summoned up the

courage to read it myself, as

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I've heard it is very difficult.

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Seriously, I've heard it's one

of the hardest books to read.

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On the bus.

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Rory reads A Room of One's

Own by Virginia Wolf.

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This 1929 extended essay argues for

women's financial independence and

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personal space to create literature.

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Yes, please.

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A foundational feminist text.

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It's a very good book for literature

loving women, especially to read.

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It's short and it's very popular

with readers in our book club.

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I very much enjoyed it and I'm

glad I crossed it off my list.

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I definitely recommend it to you.

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Max says Sookie's Bake Sale

was quote, very Henry viii,

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not just a political figure.

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He's also the title or character

in a play by William Shakespeare.

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This King of England from 1509 to

:

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and also his six marriages and his

break from the Roman Catholic Church.

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Lorelei says the question of dating Max is

a crossroads, like to perm or not to perm.

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This is a riff of To Be or Not To be.

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In Hamlet speech in Hamlet by William

Shakespeare written around:

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This is one of Shakespeare's most famous

plays and one of my personal favorites.

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It reminded me of a true crime episode

of Dateline Tensions, motivations

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and tragedy all run high in it, it

follows Prince Hamlet of Denmark

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as he seeks to avenge his father's

murder by his Uncle Claudius, who has

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seized the throne and married Hamlet's

mother, wild and crazy times, right?

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The play explore seems of revenge,

madness, and morality, especially

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through hamlet's, introspective nature.

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It's also a book Taylor

Swift loves to reference.

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I can't blame her in one of my favorite

songs of hers, but Daddy, I love him.

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Taylor sings, stay Away From Her.

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The Saboteurs protested too much.

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This lyric directly quotes Act three.

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Scene two of Hamlet, in which Prince

Hamlet's mother famously says, the

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lady doth protest too much to me

thinks, and the fate of Ophelia is

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literally all about the tragic character

suffering from grief and heartbreak.

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Have I convinced you to pick it up yet?

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I hope so.

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On a side note, does everyone

here know what perms are?

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These hair curling treatments had

their heyday in the:

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my mom is a hairdresser, I am very

familiar and have had many myself.

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First, your hair is wrapped in

tiny curlers and then chemicals

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are added and it permanently

curls your hair for a few months.

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What can I say?

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It was a look.

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Next Lorelai says, cinnamon's medicine

cabinet is like a scene from Valley

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of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann.

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This 1996 book follows three women as

they navigate fame, ambition, love,

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and heartbreak in the entertainment

industry from the:

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By the way, dolls actually refers to

pills that these women use to cope

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with pressure and personal struggles.

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I haven't read it, but it

is very high on my list.

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It sounds so juicy.

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Curious about every single book mentioned

in this Gilmore Girls episode, even the

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obscure references most people miss,

like SU's astute philosopher reference.

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Head to this episode's page at

Friday night, readers.substack.com

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When you upgrade to a paid membership,

you'll get printable episode guides

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for every Gilmore Girls episode

perfect for tracking your own

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Rory inspired reading journey.

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Now because I want you to understand

even more of the Gilmore Girls fast talk.

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Here's what some of this episode's

best pop culture references mean.

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Fashion we have yet to talk in detail

about Rory's Chilton uniform and now

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seems as good a time as any to do so.

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It typically includes a blue plaid

skirt, a navy blue sweater vest

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or blazer, and a collared shirt.

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I have actually worn this for Halloween

before and I share updated costume links

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for it each and every Halloween, and it

is always a hit with Friday night readers.

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I will link it for you in the show notes.

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Food.

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Rory says the baked, so goods

should be homemade by someone

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other than Dolly Madison.

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This is a packaged snack cake.

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Brands I'm personally not familiar with,

I actually thought Rory was referring

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to the former first Lady of the United

States, but she sort of was the name

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of the company, was inspired by her.

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In the show notes.

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I've also linked some snack cakes that

you can purchase and try for yourself,

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movies and tv.

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Lane says she wants to move to

Philadelphia because M Night

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Shyamalon, the writer and director

of the sixth sense, a popular Oscar

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nominated 1999 Thriller, where a

kid can see dead people lives there.

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And

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do I have a story for you?

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I live in the Philly suburbs, and once sat

at the table next to him at a restaurant.

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It worked out really well because

our movie Buff Friend is the one

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who ran into him while walking into

the bathroom and got to talk to him.

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He was so excited, otherwise I probably

wouldn't have even noticed him.

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By the way, this particular

movie of his has my absolute

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favorite plot twist a Jaw dropper.

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It gives you chills and it makes

the hair on your arm stand up.

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It is definitely worth a watch.

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Famous people.

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We haven't talked about

Babette in detail yet on this

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podcast, and I think we should.

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She's played Impeccably by Sally

Struthers, who is actually already

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a household name at the time.

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Her claims of fame was playing Gloria

Stivic on the classic TV sitcom,

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all in the Family from 1971 to 1978.

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A role that earned her two Emmy awards.

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I actually saw her star in Grease

on Broadway in the late:

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and I still remember how excited I

was to see a star of her caliber.

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I can still picture it in my mind's eye.

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Also, Luke tells Sookie, you can't do

yoga on the Dalai Lama's mat or stand

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behind the counter at Luke Diner.

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The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader

of Tibetan Buddhism, and traditionally,

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the political leader of Tibet

believed to be the reincarnation of

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a long line of enlightened teachers.

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Next, when Lorelei and Rory argue about

Max, we get a few references to, unpack

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Lorelei information that would've come out

eventually, like the Iran Contra scandal.

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Rory, so you're Oliver North Lorelei?

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No, I'm Fawn Hall.

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This one had me scratching my head.

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My research tells me it was a major

US political scandal in the:

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Senior officials and President Ronald

Reagan's administration secretly

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sold weapons to Iran despite an

arms embargo in hopes of securing

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the release of American hostages.

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The money from these arm sales was then

illegally funneled to fund the contra

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rebels in Nicaragua who are fighting

the socialist Sandinista government.

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Even though Congress had banned US AID to

them, Oliver North was a marine officer,

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Fawn Hall was the secretary who famously

helped shred and smuggle documents.

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That is a mouthful, isn't it?

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Let's move on to a more fun reference.

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Lorelai says quote, you can't always

control who you're attracted to.

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You know, I think the whole Angelina

Jolie, Billy Bob Thornton thing really

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proves that both are famous actors, though

she was deemed by the public as far too

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beautiful for him, a notorious bad boy

who you may know best as playing the

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US President in the holiday movie Love.

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Actually, they were married from 2000 to

:

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blood in a vial around their necks.

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Yes, really?

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Music at the beginning of the

episode, lane skanks to Rancid.

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Now, I'm not super familiar with

this punk band, but I do want to know

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first that punk music like this had

a really big moment in the:

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second that Hep Alien later performs

this song time bomb Tells Max that

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she wants to be in the Bangles.

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Is this a subtle hint that

we'll actually see this:

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girl band perform on the show?

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In a few episodes during

episode 13 concert, interruptus.

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Later the song Truly, truly by the

Town Troubadour Grant Lee Phillips

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plays, while Rory and Dean chat in

Babette's and Morey's gnome Garden.

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And this song to me is the perfect

representation of both the show

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and the time melodic romantic rock

songs played by male guitar playing

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singers were totally in at the time.

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This particular song reminds me of working

at the Casual American Retailer Gap,

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which was known for its music selections.

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During the same period as the show, I

included it on my Gilmore Girls playlist.

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I will link this in

the show notes for you.

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It is a Spotify playlist I curated from

what I think are the hundred most iconic

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and memorable songs from the show.

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Book tease.

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Lastly, the time has come for me to be

what Jess called Rory, a book tease.

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Tune in next week when

we dive into episode 1.6,

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Rory's birthday parties

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and books like Freaky Friday, which

actually doesn't stand the test of time.

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You'll learn why the movie is

better than the book in this case.

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See you next time.

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